31 October 2020

Prompt: Reflection

Character/Pairing: Dingo King (OC), Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Lukanette

Rating: T / PG-13 / Teen

Notes: This one got a little silly towards the end. Whoops. (Whooooo it's over! Thanks for sticking with me through this, guys!)

Dingo's sitting at the back of the little room in the old church, hunched over with his elbow on his knees and his chin in his hand. His sunglasses are a simple black today and dark enough to hide the amusement in his eyes, but they don't really hide how high his eyebrows have lifted. It was his one capitulation to Marinette: he'd agreed to wear a respectable pair of shades, but he'd refused to forgo them entirely.

When he'd told her that, she'd given him a look halfway between desperate and thankful and told him she hadn't expected him to, anyway.

Luka starts fidgeting again, bringing his attention back to the man of the hour. He looks a lot less excited than Dingo would have thought he'd look today. He would've thought Luka would be wearing a face-splitting, shit-eating grin, but he supposes none of this is exactly how they'd planned it. Luka fidgets with his cufflinks again, and Dingo's sorely tempted to chuck something at him.

"Mate," he calls, and he has to say it again before Luka acknowledges him. He gives him a bemused smile. "You good?"

"…no," Luka confesses. Dingo frowns.

"You're marrying Marinette today," he says, and there's a flicker of a smile that disappears when Luka looks back at his reflection.

"I'm marrying Marinette today," he says, and Dingo's frown deepens. He doesn't sound excited about it at all, and that's just not right. He doesn't even sound wonderstruck, which is his other default when discussing his bride-to-be.

"Lu?" he calls. Luka smooths out his waistcoat, his lips pressed together.

"It's stupid," he finally says.

"Lu," Dingo says, and Luka sighs.

"It's just…it doesn't feel right," Luka finally admits, looking away from his reflection. He picks at something on his kilt, but it's more a nervous tick than anything that's actually there. "None of this feels right."

"You're marrying Marinette," Dingo says again, and there's the smile.

"Ok," Luka concedes. "One thing feels right."

"Just one?" Dingo wheedles.

"This isn't the wedding we wanted," Luka says. He finally turns away from the mirror and joins Dingo at the back of the room, sitting heavily in the chair beside him. "None of this is what we wanted. But then Audrey stepped in and…I wanted to do this on the boat. Ten people tops. Not this media circus out there."

"Enough of your lives are public," Dingo says, nodding. "You wanted this to just be you."

"I wanted this to just be us," Luka confirms. He's fidgeting with the cufflinks again. Dingo can't help but think if he doesn't stop they'll pop off.

"Would talking to Mari help?" Dingo asks, and Luka shrugs. "Remind you why you're putting up with it?"

"Because I love Marinette, and at the end of the day I get to take her home as my wife, and that's all that ultimately matters," Luka says nodding with each point. He pushes out a breath and runs a hand down his face. "The how and where don't matter. At the end of the day it's still us."

"At the end of the day she's gonna be Marinette Couffaine," Dingo reminds him, and Luka's smile is a bit steadier at that.

"At the end of the day she's gonna be Marinette Couffaine," he repeats. Dingo nudges him with his shoulder, but before they can say anything else there's a knock at the door. It's opening before Luka can answer, and they both gawk as Marinette rushes inside. Luka's eyes bug and his jaw drops, but he's barely registered her presence before Dingo's slapping a hand over his eyes.

"Oi!" he says, tilting his head to glare at her over his shades. "Bad luck, baby girl!"

"I don't give two shits, Dingo King," Marinette huffs. All they can hear is the rustling of fabric as she moves to Luka, dropping to her knees in a sea of crinoline and lace as her skirts puff out around her. She takes Luka's hands and presses her lips to his fingers. "This is horrible. I hate this. Luka, we're getting married, and I hate it."

"…you two are fucking ridiculous," Dingo groans, and Luka shoves him off before looking back at Marinette.

"I hate my dress," she says, and his heart lurches at the tears swimming in her eyes. "This isn't my dress, Luka. It's Audrey's. I want to burn it. I know she was just trying to be nice, but this is all wrong. Luka, I can't marry you like this. I can't –"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Marinette," he says quickly, and he's sliding out of his chair to kneel before her. He pries his fingers from her grip and cups her face in his hands, brushing a thumb beneath her eye. "Breathe, darning. You…it's ok. You look beautiful."

"No, I don't," she whines. "I look like Audrey. This is her wedding, Luka. It's not ours."

"I know," Luka sighs, tilting her head to press his lips against her forehead. "I know. I'm so sorry. I hate this, too."

"Why don't you just run off, then?" Dingo asks, and they both pause as they blink at him. He rolls his eyes and drops his chin back in his hand. "Seriously. Neither of you want to be here. Just…sneak out the back. Text your parents to meet you at the boat. Chuck the dress in the river."

"…we can't do that," Marinette gasps, the words sounding so small. Her eyes are wide, but when she looks back at Luka he's grinning. She swallows, shaking her head. "We can't…oh my God, we can't do that. Can…can we? Can we do that?"

"I've hated this wedding since your boss got involved," Luka tells her, pulling her close for a soft kiss. "I will do whatever you want to do, Marinette. As long as we're married at the end of the day, I don't care how it happens."

"Bullshit," Dingo snorts, kicking at him. If there's a scuff mark on Audrey Bourgeois's custom waistcoat, Dingo doesn't really give a shit, either. "You were just telling me how much you hate this. You don't wanna marry her today, either."

"I want to marry you," they both say quickly, then they're laughing and he's kissing her again.

"That's all that matters," Luka says, but he still sounds like he's trying to convince himself.

"I could lose my job if we leave," Marinette whispers against his lips.

"Jagged'll hire you on the spot, and you're talented enough you can build your own design house without her clout," Luka reminds her.

"Her clout will make things easier," Marinette reminds him.

"Her clout can suck it," Dingo adds, and Marinette rolls her eyes. "Seriously. I can make your apologies. Create the distraction. Go find a courthouse and get married already."

"What do you say, Marinette?" Luka asks, and she's laughing a little manically as he pulls her closer. "Marry me anywhere but here?"

"I love that she tried," Marinette says, but she still sounds like she's convincing herself.

"You just hate how she did it," Luka says. Marinette whines against his chest.

"Dingo looks normal," she says, and they all laugh at that. Marinette blinks back tears as she looks at Dingo. "I wanted you to look like you. I'm so sorry, Ding."

"I'll rip the sleeves off in time for the real ceremony," Dingo says, waving her off. Luka helps her up, and it's a bit of a struggle with how bulky Audrey Bourgeois's custom wedding gown is. Dingo jabs his thumb towards the closet. "There's spare clothes in there. Might be easier to run out of…that. Now get out of here. I don't know how long I can stall before Rose comes looking for you."

At the end of the day, the wedding of the year ended up taking place on a beat-up old boat five blocks away from the church where Audrey Bourgeois was calling the police on the mohawk-sporting best man. It was officiated by the mother of the groom, and the only witnesses were their parents, the groom's sister and her girlfriend, and a happy crocodile. The groom was still wearing his kilt, but he'd shucked the waistcoat for an old Jagged Stone t-shirt (which had amused his dad to no ends). The bride, ironically enough, was also wearing a kilt and an old Jagged Stone shirt. (It still wasn't her dress, but it was worlds better than what Audrey had designed.)

…the bride ignored the voicemail telling her how fired, utterly fired she was as they flew off on their honeymoon, but she came back to three new job offers anyway (two were from rival fashion houses and one was from her new father-in-law).